Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly vol. 8.djvu/70

62 DOCUMENTS. That Government, it appears, dispatched a vessel of war, called the Raccoon, to destroy or possess Astoria, which, by the as- sistance of the Indians, influenced by the Northwest and Hudson's Bay companies of fur traders, they were easily enabled to do ; and have, from that period to the present time, continued to reside at it, as well as on the river above, though a messenger, or agent, was sent by the authority of the United States to receive, and did receive, that post from them, at the close of the late war. From every reflection which the Committee have been able to bestow upon the facts connected with this subject, they are inclined to believe the Columbia, in a commercial point of view, a position of the utmost importance; the fisheries on that coast, its open sea, and its position in regard to China, which offers the best market for the vast quantities of furs taken in those regions, our increasing trade throughout that ocean, seems to demand immediate attention. The fur of every country which has produced it, has been ever esteemed one of its most valuable commodities, and has long held a rank among the most profitable articles of com- merce; it was much sought for even in the days of Tatila, a Visigoth, who reigned in Italy about the year 522, at which time they drew their supplies from the Suethons, who in- habited that part of Europe called Sweden. The AVelch set a high value on them as early as the time of Howel Dda, in 940, and, from its being first an article of dress, used only by the poorer class of the community, it, by gradually extending it- self, came to be one of luxury, of the highest value, in which kings and princes vied with each other in their costly magnifi- cence and display; their clothes were not only fashioned of them, but even their tents were lined with the finest varieties. Such was the display of the great Cham of Tartary, when he was visited in his tent by Morco Polo, about the year 1252. It had become so much in use, and so high in price, that Edward the 3d, in the year 1337, deemed it expedient to prohibit its use to any but those who could afford to spend an hundred pounds a year, without detriment to their property. At that